As we prepare to get festive and gather around family and friends after what has been a difficult two years in light of COVID, the WHO is urging people to reconsider any and all celebrations.
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All parties must be cancelled to stop pandemic
With the upsurge of the Omicron variant in all corners of the world, particularly in Europe at the moment, WHO Chief, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, believes parties and celebrations should be cancelled. He explains that the only way to subside the gravity of the current wave of the coronavirus and end the pandemic once and for all, we must practice strict isolation, particularly during the holiday season. In a recent interview the WHO boss said:
An event cancelled is better than a life cancelled. There is now consistent evidence that Omicron is spreading significantly faster than the Delta variant. And it is more likely people vaccinated or recovered from Covid-19 could be infected or re-infected.
Hope is not all lost
With research showing that the Omicron variant is, thus far, the most transmissible strain ever recorded, healthcare systems across the world are having a hard time keeping up. Though the Omicron strain may not be deadlier than the Delta variant was, it is still very capable of collapsing hospital capacities and even shutting down a whole economy, as is currently the case.
While things are looking grim, WHO's top emergency expert, Mike Ryan has reassured the public by saying that we will soon be seeing the light at the end of the tunnel if we respect security measures. He explained that:
[We] hope to consign this disease to a relatively mild disease that is easily prevented, that is easily treated. If we can keep virus transmission to minimum, then we can bring the pandemic to an end.
